Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine

 When Shirley MacLaine accepted her Oscar with the words, "I deserve this," I felt it in my bones.

via ferretfyre

I know I say that almost every actress deserved her win and I can make a case for most, if Shirley had won for half of the Oscars she'd been previously nominated for, she would have been rewarded for a rich catalogue of work. The Apartment? The Turning Point? 

I do think Terms of Endearment is dated in a way that '80s movies can be. The melodrama is ratcheted up and it's more sentimental than a version that would be made today. Also, and this is just my beef with James L. Brooks movies in general: who has a retired astronaut as a neighbour? Who is named Flap Horton or Garrett Breedlove? It takes me out of it every time. I can't wait to revisit all this when I get to Helen Hunt's winning performance in As Good As it Gets!

But despite these critiques of the movie, Shirley's win shouldn't feel like a lifetime achievement award. She's fantastic in this. Cold yet heartfelt, the sun around which all the of the plot rotates yet also a distant planet that exists in spite of what actually happens. She's the core of the film, an anchor, who only really interacts with her on-screen daughter, played by Debra Winger (who probably would have won Best Supporting Actress if she'd competed in that category), and Jack Nicholson's retired astronaut character (and man, did he have some zingers of lines, no wonder he won the Best Supporting Actor statue). But without her, the entire film falls apart. Everyone else exists in service to Aurora Greenway. 

"I deserve this" indeed.

Shirley was nominated against Jane Alexander (Testament), Meryl Streep (Silkwood), Julie Waters (Educating Rita), and her co-star Debra Winger. I bet if Debra Winger would've gone supporting she also would've won an Oscar for this film. 

DID I LIKE TERMS OF ENDEARMENT? Not a fan of this type of movie (don't come for me Broadcast News fans!) but I will never be angry at the fact that Shirley MacLaine is an Oscar winner!

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Did you like Terms of Endearment? What are your thoughts on Shirley MacLaine's Oscar win?

Keep up with all my Rewatching the Best Actresses posts here!